I'll Be Home for Christmas
by Penthesileia
Summary: Sesshomaru gave her love, and then he gave her betrayal. But he was completely unaware of the greatest gift he had ever given her...until today. Sesshomaru/Kagura


AN: **Really Important note!!!! **

**Please be aware I'm not completely ready to start updating this on a regular basis. I just really wanted the date it was published be on Dec. 24. Also, everyone is human. THERE ARE NO DEMONS!!!! **

Anyway, I got this idea after reading one to many Harlequin books. I really hope everyone enjoys it!!!

**Disclaimer- **I do not own Inuyasha and I am making no money off this fic.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

**December 24, 2008**

Rin anxiously waited for her baggage to appear, forcing herself not to glance back down at her watch. She had a strict schedule to follow, and it hadn't helped the plane was late because of weather. She _had _to get there soon.

She rocked back on her heels, hands shoved deep in her pink Hannah Montana jacket. The airport baggage hold was strangely quiet. After a lawsuit, the airport had been forced to take down all its Christmas decorations and could no longer play carols. Typical elevator music filled the room instead of cheerful holiday songs.

Rin smiled suddenly, a snippet of her mother's singing bursting through her head. She had sung while making their gingerbread house together last week. If Rin concentrated enough, she could still smell the cinnamon and sugar cookie candles her mother liked to light around the house...

Rin shook her head fiercely, home sickness creeping up on her. She wouldn't regret this! She wouldn't get scared and turn back, not now. She _had _to do this. If her mother refused to bring their family together, then Rin would!

Conviction restored, Rin waited as her red and gold _High School Musical! _bag tumbled down from the conveyer belt. She allowed herself to look down at her watch, glad to see she was finally back on schedule, with some time to spare. It should get her through holiday traffic.

She struggled to get the heavy bag off the moving belt, strangers watching her curiously. "Honey, are you lost?" one of them asked kindly, reaching out to help her pull the case to the floor.

Rin smiled brightly, "No thank you. I'm fine." she said with a confidence most seven year olds didn't possess, and walked towards the exit, her red sparkly shoes click-clacking on the tiled floor loudly.

She handed her fake passport to security causally, ignoring the raised eyebrow that had occurred with every such visit.

The guard looked her over. "You're twenty four?" he asked doubtfully.

Rin fixed an indigent expression on her face. "I have dwarfism." she lied coldly, glaring at the suddenly flustered guard.

"Sorry." he muttered, stamping her passport quickly. "Have a happy holiday ma'am." he slid the passport back to her, ears reddening.

Rin took it back with a sneer, "No thanks to you pal." she huffed and marched up, waiting to smirk until she was out of his view point.

She walked out of the double glass doors, rows of family members and friends crowding the corridor waiting for their loved ones to step through those doors. They hardly paid her any attention as they craned their necks higher, waiting for their own to come.

She marched past them, pulling her bag behind her as she headed for the street, now needing to find a taxi. She had some money, and her mother's credit card. She shouldn't have a problem.

She only hoped her mother wouldn't be to angry if she had to forge her signature paying for a taxi ride to the man she hated most in the world.

Rin strode through the roving door, not allowing herself to pause as she spotted a taxi she liked. She felt strangers eyeballing her, but she kept her chin up and walked with a purpose, just like her mother had taught her.

She forced herself not to roll her eyes when as she approached a cab waiting in the pick-up area, the taxi driver raised a eyebrow. Rin studied the inside while the driver gaped. It was clean, no cigarette butts or smoke lingered, a mini wreath hung from the mirror, and a picture of three children standing next to a tree was taped to his dashboard. He would do.

"Can you drive me to Oakton Heights please?" Rin asked very politely, blinking her eyes once or twice the way her mother had when dealing with their landlord.

The cab driver looked her over, "Shouldn't you be askin' for Toys R U sweetheart?" he asked, sounding amused. "Where's your mommy?"

Rin fixed him the same cold glare she had given the security guard and just about everyone else that day, "I am a _dwarf _you-"

The driver snorted, "No you're not, my cousin is a _little person_. Come on now kid, where are your parents?"

Rin lost the glower and slapped the innocent-angel look on she used to get out of trouble with her teachers. "Ok, you're right, I'm not a dwarf. I'm going to meet them." Rin held her hands up, not completely lying. "Honest."

The man looked over her shoulder, frowning. "Uh-huh." he said disbelievingly. "And your parents aren't coming to pick you up? Do you think its very safe to get a ride from me honey?"

Rin nodded, "Of course. You're married-" her eyes touched on the golden ring circling his finger, "You have kids and I have money. Plus, I've been trained in karate. I'm fine."

The driver remained looking doubtful. Rin let her eyes fill with tears, frustrated her goal was so close but this man wasn't cooperating!

The man's eyes widened, alarmed. "What? No! C'mon honey, don't cry." he begged.

Rin let a tear slip down, "Please sir, I need to get home. It's Christmas and I need to be with my family. You see I..." she paused, wondering how much to tell him. "There's a whole half of my family I haven't met." she whispered. "Please, I need...I need to meet them. I don't want to go through life knowing only half of who I am."

The man sighed and glanced back at the picture on the dashboard. "There's gotta be some kind of law I'm breaking, but ok. I'll do it. C'mon sweetheart, let's get in the car."

The driver stepped out of the car to pop open the truck and help her get her bag inside. Looking down at her, he chuckled. "You're some kid girlie." he said admiringly. "Your parents are going to kill you, but they'll be proud, trust me."

Rin smiled brightly as he opened the car for her and jumped in. "Thanks mister!" she told him, heart beating fast. This was actually happening. She was really doing this after months of careful planning. Everything was going to work out!

The cab driver turned the key, starting the cab off. He grunted when a hard rock station came on and quickly muted it. "Christmas music good with you?" he asked, fiddling with the tuner until Celine Dion crooned through the speakers.

Rin nodded rapidly even though he probably couldn't see it. "It's perfect." she reassured, the first signs of holiday cheer she had seen all day lifting her spirits.

He sighed, and muttering something about lawsuits, pulled away from the curb.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kagura frantically tore Rin's room apart, trying to find some clue as to where her daughter went.

"Oh don't worry mom, I'll be fine, go out and work, we'll be together tomorrow." Kagura repeated her daughter's words under her breath angrily, shifting through her desk. "That little brat!"

With a curse she never would have uttered had Rin been around, Kagura slammed the drawer shut, nearly breaking the mechanism Rin had worked so hard on fixing.

Kagura rubbed her forehead, her anger at Rin rapidly turning to anger at herself. Had she done something to make Rin run away? Was her daughter mad at her? Had she been working to hard? Was this Rin's way of telling her she was a horrible mother?

This was her fault, Kagura realized with a sinking heart. She should have checked in on Rin when she got home from work, but it had been so late she was worried of waking her. She should have hired a babysitter instead of depending on Rin's maturity so much. She shouldn't have given Rin so much independence. She shouldn't have bought an apartment in such a bad part of town. She should have made Rin eat her vegetables more...

Kagura leaned forward and buried her head in her hands. She couldn't freak out, she had to find her daughter. Maybe she had gone to one of her friends houses? Or maybe-

A knock at the door interrupted her thought process, and Kagura hurried to answer it, praying it was Rin and she had forgotten her key.

Opening the door, Kagura had to force herself not to cry, or burst into laughter. Instead of her daughter, a sullen teenager stood in a large candy cane costume, two bright red circles painting on his cheeks and a handful of scrolls in his hand. "Ms. Nakamura?" he asked, sounding bored.

Abruptly, he shoved one of the scrolls into her hands, a small candy cane taped to the thick paper. "Here's your candy gram, happy holidays and whatever." he sighed and stomped off, nearly hitting the top of the candy cane costume on the hallway's corner.

Kagura absently tucked the candy cane into her pocket, Rin loving peppermint, and rolled the scroll open.

_Dear Mother,_

_By now, my plane should have landed,_

_We both know I haven't gone to see my brother,_

_Don't worry, I'm not stranded,_

_I know exactly what I'm doing rather,_

_Do I need to be more candid?_

_Rin_

Kagura reread the letter, wanting to scratch her head. What did she mean? Rin didn't have a brother.

Kagura sighed, happy not for the first time Rin hadn't gotten her brains from her...

She froze, her hand in midair.

"...oh _fuck._" Kagura cursed in the empty hallway, glad for a moment her daughter wasn't there to hear her, before running back into her apartment to pack.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Alright Rin, this looks like the place." The cab driver pointed out the tall security gates. "Looks like you come from money." he commented. "How do you want to get in?"

Rin studied the quickly approaching gates, getting nervous for the first time. What if he didn't want her? What if this had all been for nothing? "I hacked into his system and got the codes. You can just pull up to the keypad." she asked, trying to take deep breaths. Oh God, what if she had to go back having failed?

The cab driver shook his head, "You should be playing with Barbie's or something, not playing around other people's security systems." He admonished.

Rin rolled her eyes. "Please, I outgrew Barbie ages ago." Now she played around with ThinkGeek's Dismember-Me Zombie and NASA's computer technology

The driver pulled up to the keypad on Rin's side as she rolled the window down, shivering slightly when the cold air hit her. Rin swallowed, half scared, half elevated as she stared at the shiny, silver keypad. This was really the point of no return. After so much planning and so much work and hours and hours of praying, did she really want to go through with this? What if it didn't work out the way she hoped?

The cab driver looked back at her, fully understanding why she was hesitating. "Rin, no matter how much time I've spent away from them, I love my kids more then anything." he said softly.

Rin nodded and forced her shaky fingers to press down on the cold numbers. 04111980.

Slowly, the large iron gate swung back, admitting them inside. "You ready?" the driver asked.

Rin took another deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be." she said firmly, fixing a confident look on her face while inside she was a mess of nerves.

The cabbie drove through the gates, soft Christmas music still playing as he took Rin past the expensively landscaped grounds that led to the house.

The driveway came to a circle of pavement in front of the mansion, Rin's mouth dropping from the size of it. She had seen it in pictures, but it was larger then she imagined possible in real life. It almost looked like an English castle...

"Here we are sweetheart." the cab driver announced and got out of the car to get her bag.

Rin followed slowly, noticing it was lightly snowing. The cabbie took her bag out of the trunk and it set it down next to her.

He stared at the house along with Rin, both of them silent for a moment. "Do you need any backup honey, or will you be good?"

Rin shook her head, knowing she needed to do this herself. "I should be good."

The cab driver nodded, wishing he could help her further. "Here." he reached into his pocket and handed her a business card. "I'll circle the area for awhile. If this doesn't work out, give me a call." he said gruffly.

Rin accepted the small slip of paper. "Thank you so much for everything sir." She pushed the card into her jacket and took out her small pink wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing, consider it a Christmas present." the cabbie ruffed her hair affectionately, "Good luck sweetheart."

Rin gathered up her bag as the cab driver got back into his car and waved before pulling away. She stared at the cab for a moment before turning towards the front door determinedly. It was now or never as her mother liked to say.

Rin tugged her suitcase with her up the steps, glad it wasn't icy. She stopped in front of the imposing door, now more aware then ever she was just a poor, measly, seven-year old girl. Would he want anything to do with her?

Her finger hesitated over the doorbell. Would it have been better to live with the illusion her mother had given her then to know the truth?

...no. Rin finally decided. It wouldn't be.

Rin pressed the button, hearing the door ring on the other side of the door faintly. She stood up straight, her shoulders back and a relaxed look on her face when she heard footsteps on the other side. She was going to be a mature, young lady and not embarrass herself or her mother.

Slowly, the door opened, and a small, unpleasant looking man stood on the other side, squinting up at her.

"Who are you?" the man croaked, rudely looking her up and down.

"Rin Nakamura. Is Mr. Tashio available?" Rin asked politely.

The old man sneered, "What would _you _want with the Great Sir Tashio?"

Someone sighed and Rin's heart skipped a beat. "Jaken. Move." the old man was pushed roughly out of the way and Sesshomaru Tashio filled the doorway, so tall Rin had to tilt her head back to look up at him.

Sesshomaru oh-so-slightly raised his eyebrow, but for the first time since she left, Rin didn't feel the urge to roll her eyes or glare at him. "Yes?" he asked.

Without thought, Rin dropped her bag and launched herself into Sesshomaru's startled arms. "Father!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

I'll try to update as soon as possible, but I can't promise it will be up by next week. Please review though!


End file.
